Best way to learn imperfect vs. preterite?
I am struggling a lot with this, and I can never seem to get these right. Sometimes its very obvious, but other times (most of the time) I have no idea which one to use. Any advice on how to use these two properly would be greatly appreciated. This is one of the only things holding me back from advancing in Spanish, and I am eager to conquer it.
4 Answers
HI jacop, this might be interesting for you to read.
Explicar la diferencia entre el pretérito indefinido y el perfecto
Jacobabarrera, I’ve found the best way to determine the correct use of the preterit or imperfect is by thinking deeply about what we say in English. If the past tense verb in English can be substitute with “I used to verb, it is almost always the imperfect. Other triggers are “during”, “customarily”, ‘in the habit of”, “always”, and you get the drift.
“When I was in school I ate at a café across the street instead of the school cafeteria.” I’m talking about an ongoing period of time in the indefinite past. So, I could say, “During the time that I attended school I used to eat at a café across the street instead of the school cafeteria.” This is a clear indication of the imperfect for both “asistir” and “almorzar”.
“Iba a la escuela a las 07:00.” “I used to go to school at 07:00.” “Fuí a la escuela a las 07:00.” I went to school at 07:00.” This is just a simple fact: “I left for school…” It could be part of a larger sentence and I left while something else was happening. “Mis hermanos todavía dormían cuando fuí a la escuela”.
“No fui yo.” “It wasn’t me” or “I didn’t do it.” This could be the answer to “who crashed the car?”
These are just a few examples. Heidita left a few links that are fantastic.
And this by one of the best grammar specialists : lazarus.
Example sentences for all Spanish tenses
I'm not a grammarian, but I am very successful in teaching Enlgish speakers how to speak Spanish.
Here's a little article I wrote on this subject.
